Latest KFF Health News Stories
Insurers Battle Over Federal Employees’ Health Coverage
For-profit insurers ask Congress to open FEHB to greater competition from regional plans.
Funding To Enroll Uninsured In New Markets Called ‘Drop In Bucket’
Feds announce $54 million to hire ‘navigators’ in 33 states, but some say that’s too little to get job done.
Consumer Groups Fear Patients Could Be Hit With Large Out-Of-Pocket Costs
The Obama administration’s decision to delay the health law provision setting a maximum payment cap for some plans spurs complaints from several dozen organizations.
After Expanding Coverage, Massachusetts Focuses On Taming Costs
As other states continue to debate the merits of the Affordable Care Act or race to implement it, the Bay State is moving on to the next big challenge: curbing health care costs.
Same-Sex Spouses Can Face Barriers On Health Care Under Federal Law
Even when states legalize gay marriage, couples may have to pay extra federal taxes on the value of health policies and not get some protections because the federal government is barred from recognizing such unions.
Immigrant Docs Help Ease California’s Primary Care Shortage
Jose Chavez Gonzalez was working construction but had eight years of medical training in El Salvador. A UCLA program finds its candidates working in warehouses, meat packing plants and behind the counter at McDonalds.
Walgreens Becomes 1st Retail Chain To Diagnose, Treat Chronic Conditions
Stores in 18 states to use nurse practitioners, physician assistants to expand services to include diagnosis and treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
In South Jersey, New Options For Primary Care Are Slow To Take Hold
A clinic in a Camden, N.J., apartment building makes slow progress persuading patients not to use hospital emergency rooms for primary care.
Death Rates Rise At Geographically Isolated Hospitals, Study Finds
These critical access hospitals, which are often in rural areas, get paid more generously by Medicare and are exempt from some federal reporting standards. But those exemptions may be hiding quality issues at the facilities.
Despite Fears Of ‘Sticker Shock,’ Young Adults Should Have Reasonable Plan Options On Exchanges
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about the premium prices for young adults, pre-tax contributions to health savings accounts and choosing between work-provided coverage and buying a plan on their own.
New Med School Aims To Train Primary Care Docs
Quinnipiac University in Connecticut is recruiting its first class for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, with an eye toward meeting the coming demand for more primary care physicians.
Maryland’s Tough New Hospital Spending Proposal Seen As ‘Nationally Significant’
State officials want to limit hospital spending to the growth rate of the state’s economy, a huge challenge for hospitals.
Can They Do That? Rules For Pricing Spousal Coverage
Michelle Andrews answers a reader’s question about employers who charge a different premium to cover a spouse who has coverage available through his or her own job.
FAQ On The Latest Study: Obamacare’s Impact On Insurance Claim Costs
The Society of Actuaries is predicting that because of the health law, on average, insurers will have to pay 32 percent more for claims by 2017. What does that mean for consumers?
Economic Changes Hurt The Bottom Line For Rural Ga. Hospitals
To save money, some cut procedures, such as labor and delivery services, but a growing number are forced to close.
Slow Progress On Efforts To Pay Docs, Hospitals For ‘Value,’ Not Volume
Consortium of large employers says that only 10.9 percent of employers’ health spending is based on value-based payment.
Temp Agencies See Opportunity In Health Law
Some employers — worried about the cost of health coverage — are eyeing staffing agencies to fill jobs. But these arrangements could leave gaps in the health law’s expanded coverage.
Large Companies Are Increasingly Offering Workers Only High Deductible Health Plans
Firms with 1,000 employees or more once offered a variety of coverage options, but a recent survey found nearly 15 percent today provide simply these plans and a savings account for medical expenses.
Connecticut Races To Reach Uninsured, Open Health Insurance Marketplace
Officials hope to ‘make history’ by signing up two-thirds of those without coverage after the marketplaces launch nationwide Oct. 1.
IOM Panel Raises Concerns About Lowering Medicare Pay For High Spending Areas
The report suggests that cutting payments in areas that pay more per beneficiary, such as Manhattan and Florida, could hit hospitals and doctors who are not providing expensive care.
